Not a 9/10 or 10/10, but an actual 11/10.
The book you consider to be the actual pinnacle of the medium, the book that you genuinely think is unmatched. The book that your heart aches over, because you'll never experience it for the first time again. And please be as in-depth as to why.
Free licence to gush over your favorite work/the work you consider to be the greatest in all aspects (Spoiler free please!), no matter how cliche, over discussed, obvious, or even controversial.
by fuckisyoudoin
11 Comments
Goosebumps
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin. While I was reading it I wouldn’t shut up about it, and I still can’t shut up. It’s a provoking thought piece while still being an engaging story about political intrigue on a world very alien to the main character’s home planet. Also the first book in a long time to genuinely make me cry because it was over.
The Fifth Season, NK Jemisin
Discworld, Terry Pratchett
The Blind Assasin, Margaret Atwood
Strike
Martha Wells’ *Murderbot Diaries* series, and in particular its **Network Effect**
None. I refuse to again tempt the Math Gods. I have my “+” scar as a reminder.
Seriously, though, probably Shogun.
For me it’s a tie between *Les Misérables* and *The Lord of the Rings*. They both require a significant commitment, but the payoff is well worth it. I find them both utterly immersive, and although Hugo and Tolkien both tend to go on long tangents, they were both such skilled writers that even these lengthy asides keep me interested. Hugo has a habit of, in the middle of an extremely suspenseful event, leaving you on a cliffhanger while he rambles about, say, the history of the Paris sewers for 20-odd pages. Yet he makes it interesting, and without this content the next events wouldn’t hit as hard. Similarly, Tolkien creates this deep history of Middle Earth that doesn’t always appear relevant to the story at hand, but the investment in the lore and legend are what makes it such a rewarding experience. I could get lost in both these books for ages.
Runners up would be *Midnight’s Children*, *The Blind Assassin*, and *Crime and Punishment*.
Harry Potter.
Nothing more magical.
The writing makes one so attached to the characters that you cry in their loss and celebrate their happiness….
Original 5 Percy Jackson books are 11/10
Game of Thrones and Stormlight Archive. Nothing like epic fantasy to truly transport you somewhere else for a little while.
You’re describing a 10/10 book